[Special Review] The Patch Update #441 Analyzed

[Zenyth 6,494]

         

 

It was yet another regular Tanki Wednesday until news spread that three turrets were going to go under the knife shortly. Soon enough, we saw Hazel-Rah head out of the operation theatre bringing along what appeared to be the new avatars of the trio - Hammer, Isida and Shaft. It was about time for all of us in the newsroom started working full steam ahead on another review. Read on!

 

 

Hammer

 

Hammer probably bore the brunt of this change (although realistically there are quite a few things which are directly positive in it), thanks to a new ability added and several other things tinkered with. The reason for the implementation of the changes was cited as the much-debated powerful nature of the Hammer, maximized in recent times following the introduction of its M2 alteration. Let's look at the said changes one by one.

 

Change in Reload Speeds

 

Both the reload speeds that are associated with Hammer have been tweaked, in opposite fashion. The reload time between each shot has been decreased by 0.01 seconds at M0, upto 0.1 seconds at M4 (1.8 seconds currently). Pretty insignificant but counts up to nearly half a second if you use High Capacity Drums with a M4 Hammer. ;)

 

The reload time between the full clip (magazine) has a more noticeable change, although an unfavourable one. This particular reload time is now larger than before (5 seconds at M4), a full one second more than the previous value irrespective of modification. This dip in the reload speed of the clip (that rhyme :ph34r:) is bound to have adverse effects on the ability of Hammer to sustain itself in the crossfire once a full clip has been unloaded.  While the ordeal of having to reload for longer can be agonizing if you wish to stay in the action, you can always find ways to slip back and forth from the chaos up front and time your movements with the clip reload. 

 

Decrease in Number of Pellets

 

I would classify this as a nerf, but hey, if you're the one with masterful accuracy with this shotgun then you could probably feel good about this. You'll definitely be getting better rewards as compared to your lesser accurate Hammer counterparts than before. The number of pellets is now almost 3x lesser, reduced from 21 pellets per shot to 9 pellets per shot. However, the impact force and damage per shot remain the same. This is because the actual impact force and damage per pellet has been increased to compensate for the decrease in amount of pellets. In fact, if the wiki isn't wrong, the damage per shot has been actually buffed minutely, so damage and impact force aren't such a factor - except you lose out more even if a single pellet misses target. ;)

 

 

But then, what is? Hmm? Accuracy is. Point to be noted is that the pellet 'spread' cone is still the same, which means that the only change is that the pellets will just be less dense and harder to aim with. Aiming correctly for rapid reactions will be testing henceforth. The margin for error is certainly lesser now, and each pellet does have even more importance.  

 

Ricocheting Ability of Pellets

 

This is something new. Hammer's pellets won't disintegrate on impact with walls and other props, but will in fact rebound from them. They do not ricochet on and on like a Ricochet's projectile would, the limit is just one rebound after firing. This new function has been added so that the Hammer becomes more similar to a real life shotgun whose pellets would normally bounce off walls and steel.

 

 

While the one ricochet limit prevents this new function from having any continuous influence. It does get you a perk in certain situation - for example, hitting your opponent when a dead tank or teammate is blocking your vision. Be careful while using recoil when flipped sideways though, keep your angle offset from the vertical to avoid causing self-damage and similarly while emptying your clip on a wall. 

 

 

An increase in the angles of auto-aim, both upward and downward directions by 2 degrees and 3 degrees respectively also accompanied the above changes. It'll probably help you out a bit more since the the number of pellets is lesser. Expect lesser instances of pellets hitting props when you try to shoot enemies below or above the surface on which you're operating.

 

Impact on Alterations

 

Firstly, Slugger, Hammer's M1 alteration. Slugger reduces the horizontal and vertical spread of the pellets by 50%, making the distribution of pellets even more dense and therefore, may make the task of aiming your shots too gruelling for your liking. The plus points would be ensuring that your shot's outer pellets don't land on nearby tanks or props, and managing a more accurate shot in narrow areas. Of course, another major advantage would be at longer ranges than normal, where your shots will deviate lesser from the line of sight. :D

 

 

Secondly, we've got Hammer's highly-favoured M2 alteration, High Capacity Drums. I would still suggest this even though it lengthens the already-high reload time between clips. Simply because it helps you get kill streaks and get you at least 2 kills per death in certain situations. So, if you can't cut the mustard with the normal Hammer after this update, you could surely try your hand at Hammer equipped with this alteration. Additionally, what is supposedly a new minus point for this alteration, it also increases the reload time between shots by 10%. 

 

Isida

 

Isida had its vampire-like health-sucking abilities straight out confiscated in this update in what is the another major transformation to this short-ranged turret. This will have widespread effects on Isida gameplay without doubt, from a further decrease in the power of Isida train drugfests of the past to the obsolescence of the name of its M1 product kit. Let's look at what changed, exactly.

 

Removal of Self-Healing Function

 

Yes, Isida has been stripped of its so-called second utility of 'vampirism', where it used to heal itself while attacking enemy tanks. Despite the reduction in percent self-healing in the last big balance update from the erstwhile 50% at M4 to a uniform 10% throughout all modifications which made all Isidas suffer a setback, the common tactic of gorging oneself on weak, vulnerable tanks while going from base to base was still strong.

 

It's believed that the self-healing function has been removed to contain the use of such clever and overpowered tactics. But nope, this doesn't exactly mean that Isida is useless on the attack front, compensatory changes were made to fill the void left by the removal of self-healing. :)

 

Separate Energy Pools

 

Erstwhile Isida's 9 second energy pool has now been done away with and an all-new mechanism of separate target-dependent energy pools is now here. Using your Isida to heal teammates now consumes 100 energy units per second (eps), while the value for attacking enemies and pressing space bar without a target in front is 200 eps and 50 eps respectively. At the same time, the total energy is unchanged at 1000 energy units.

 

 

What this means is that your Isida can heal continuously for 10 seconds, attack enemy tanks for 5 seconds and last 20 seconds when aiming at a non-existent target, at a stretch. It's believed that this distinction has been made to underline Isida's medic role as the more important one. Even though both Firebird and Isida can attack enemies continuously for 5 seconds, Firebird reloads twice faster than Isida and hence the Isida, in many situations would be better off supporting another teammate or healing key tankers somewhere else (of course, this is very situation-specific - there are instances where attack is the right choice).

 

While being a 'fighter' for your team is harder because now you can damage enemies for only 5 seconds at once, the following change makes it easier, somewhat. 

 

Increased DPS and Narrower Attack Cone

 

Yes, that'd be the buff I'm talking about. Isida now has the highest damage per second (DPS) among the three short-range turrets. At M4, this DPS is 80 hp higher than that of Firebird/Freeze and that is a pretty large gap, if you multiply it by the 5 seconds that you'll be dealing this DPS for. It possibly makes up for the lack of any burning or freezing effect.  ^_^ 

 

So, why not use Isida more in offense? The thing is, in Freeze and Firebird's case, their quicker reload time throws its weight behind the punch they pack whereas Isida's reload is a whole 2 sec and 4 sec higher respectively. Not a mere trifle, mind you, as you aren't attacking as long as you can possibly heal. The overall productivity is still less if you're an attacking Isida, at least if you're using a hull above Viking.

 

Turret	Firing time	M2	M3	M4

Isida (healing)103184.74258.85040

Isida (attack)52635.33541.24200

 

At the same time, your Isida can encounter a bit of difficulty because of the decreased cone angle. The 3-D conical area in which the Isida beam can direct nanobots has been reduced. The cone angle is now 15 degrees, down from 20. I saw visible effects of this while playing with Dictator in Noise CTF, caused discomfort on the slopes. I'd advise all the Isida-Dictators out there to avoid such maps even more now.

 

Impact on Alterations

 

Isida's M1 alteration, Broadband Emitters, did not undergo any change due to this update. However, it does become more meaningful as it triples the now-decreased cone angle to a staggering 45 degrees. That is pretty big, and I suppose directing the beam with this equipped will be like a five-finger exercise.

 

 

On the contrary, the M2 alteration called 'Support Nanobots' has been totally restyled to be in agreement with the patch update. Support Nanobots now gives an additional 5 seconds to healing energy pool, which will total 15 seconds with this alteration equipped. For this advantage you have to trade off 50% of your DPS, which can be a major blow if you prefer to play an all-round role for your team. It is a disastrous choice for DMs (obviously :P) but can work out well for a full-time medic, like the one who stands behind the team's Vulcan.

 

Shaft

 

The third and final 'victim' of what could be referred to as a lengthy makeover, Shaft. Personally, I view it as a buff for Shaft albeit with the presence of nerf-like factors. Shaft now has a license to 1 shot KO all medium hulls of the same modification mixed with various other significant changes. The overall effect will hopefully, eventually, make Shaft a more effective sniper as intended.

 

Max. Scope Damage buffed

 

OMG YES!!11!1!1!!! :o

 

My prayers have borne fruit. Shaft's scope mode has received a boost and can now one-hit obliterate all medium hulls of the same modification. It also means that it can one-shot light hulls of the same and the next modification with a lesser charge when compared to the full energy level. The boost is also enough for a Shaft M2 to one-shot M1 heavy hulls now, so I expect it to be quite useful. 

 

While a M3 Shaft will need a complete energy bar to one-shot any medium M3 hull, it isn't the same case down the ladder. M2 hulls like Hunter and Dictator, owing to their inferior health compared to M2 Viking won't need a full charge for a one-shot kill. Regardless of modification differences, this change turns into a major advantage if you're among those patient Shaft users who hold down space bar till the end, hide the laser and lay in wait of potential prey. 

 

Changes in Scope Reload

 

The reload speed of M4 Shaft has been taken down from 166.67 eps to 125 eps. Shaft will now take from 8 seconds at M4 to 10 seconds at M0 to reload between two consecutive scope shots. That's an entire 2 seconds longer than before, which is understandable because at the same time the scope damage has been increased too. Arcade shot's reload time does not suffer because of this change, because the energy requirement for an arcade shot has been adjusted to nullify the increase in reload time. 

 

Along with this, the energy consumption per second in scope mode also has been decreased considerably, and as a result it now takes you 4 seconds to get to the full power in scope mode, instead of 3 seconds previously. While the increase in reload time in general reduces your active time on the battlefield, it can be dealt with by using proper cover and slipping back from lookout positions while reloading. However, the second change changes things when actively engaged with enemies. ;)

 

 

I personally think that this change will be problematic for the quicker, mobile Shaft users who generally rely on 'quick-scope' shots and arcade mode shots only. The increase in power-up time means that if you cut short your power-up time, you will be dishing out lesser damage than before and that will make its presence felt when you try to deal damage in a short time-frame, such as shooting at a flag-holder when he's metres away from a turn and about to disappear from your scope. I would use Shaft more and more in open zones after this change.

 

Arcade Damage Dropoff

 

Arcade damage has been adjusted to avoid instances of overpowered damage at large distances. The arcade shot now deals more damage at close quarters but loses its intensity over range, similar to the likes of Thunder and Smoky. The earlier values of arcade damage appear to be approximately the average of the maximum and minimum values that currently define the arcade damage. Beyond the minimum arcade damage range, Shaft deals 50% weak damage, similar to Vulcan.

 

In my opinion, this is a good change, and will encourage the use of scope mode even more when eyeing targets at fairly large distances and similarly give Shaft more safety up close with the increase in arcade damage at small distances. 

 

Changes to Sight and Zoom

 

The sight and zoom functions of Shaft featured three changes in the patch update. First of all, the changes to field of view (FOV) at maximum zoom in a previous update were partially reversed - increased to 20 degrees from 15 degrees at full zoom. In the second change, the turning speed when aiming in the scope mode was considerably reduced, by 33% at M4 to be precise. It is indeed a negative change, but it may be grist for the mill when trying to focus on an enemy's tank in narrow space (many a times one can over-rotate and hit a wall when aiming at a distant target). The third and final change was basically because of the decrease in energy consumption per second. It causes a slower zoom speed now, and the scope mode stops zooming in after a longer time interval. 

 

Changes to Alterations

 

Shaft's alterations didn't get restyled but most of the patch update's changes affect them. The M1 alteration, Assault Emitters reduces reload speed by 20% (thereby increasing reload time by 20%) and increases the minimum arcade damage by 25%. Given the arcade shot's damage variation now, the average damage per arcade shot will now go up if you have Assault Emitters equipped.

 

 

The more 'affected' of the two alterations is the M2 one, Heavy Capacitors. It increases the power-up time while in scope mode to 200% (double the usual 4 seconds) or 8 seconds. That is pretty high, and I would recommend this for only camping Shafts who play the role of locking down zones and killing tank after tank to contribute to defense in team modes. Wouldn't recommend this for DM at all. The bright side is that you can kill M4 medium hulls with one scope shot and only one good arcade hit when using a stock M3 Shaft.

 

 

In what appears to be a crescendo of patch updates and balance corrections, we're witnessing the game change and transform in a multitude of directions. Buffs or nerfs, it is undoubtedly change and you need only embrace it. What do you think about the changes to these three turrets? Let us know, comment below and leave your opinions!

Edited February 22, 2017 by Vikingsrallentando

[Zenyth 6,494]

A review based on last Wednesday's drastic changes brought about by patch update #441. Enjoy reading!

[Zenyth 6,494]

ah, thanks

corrected 

[arnav0506 2,777]

ah, thanks

corrected

:) (:

[lukey0 27,543]

Nice!

[Penguin40 1,714]

:ccc one reason why i can never do guides or reviews

 

Anyways, great job mate! :D

[AshsPikachuDwij 1,035]

Awesome.... and why are they drastic :ph34r: :ph34r:

[Zenyth 6,494]

Awesome.... and why are they drastic :ph34r: :ph34r:

They changed quite a lot about the three turrets in question, didn't they? Hammer and Isida, especially.

[sre123 595]

Brilliant article, Zeni! You kept me reading till the end. Generally, I don't read such long review and stuff, :ph34r:  but, you kept me attached to this article. Brilliant! :D

Edited February 21, 2017 by sre123

[Zenyth 6,494]

The pleasure's all mine.

[Tsniper2015 11]

its unfair shaft new changes especially auto-aim vertical and horizontal in many maps rio, madness, brest,montecarlo and many other maps  that shaft cant reach enemy's up or down while they are killing me its not fair please fix it and return the previous auto-aim

[Zenyth 6,494]

its unfair shaft new changes especially auto-aim vertical and horizontal

It is only fair that a few of the stats get nerfed while others are being changed positively (which are the max. scope damage and close range arcade damage here). You'll have to adjust your style to keep playing like you did in the said maps. Might be challenging but that's the name of the game. ;)

[RIDDLER_8 5,552]

Isida M4 must have 10 seconds to deal damage to an enemy target. The 5 second damage pool is not enough. Please change it to 10 seconds, like the healing pool.

[Zenyth 6,494]

Isida M4 must have 10 seconds to deal damage to an enemy target. The 5 second damage pool is not enough. Please change it to 10 seconds, like the healing pool.

It was 9 seconds for both before, but now that the DPS/DPM has been boosted, the attacking energy pool has been reduced to make a better distinction between the fighter and medic roles, as the devs put it.

[anuclearbomb 220]

As a mobile shaft, I was a bit resentful of this update, but once you get used to it, it's beautiful.

my M3 (41/50) Shaft is... Is beautiful....

Beautiful

[Penguin40 1,714]

As a mobile shaft, I was a bit resentful of this update, but once you get used to it, it's beautiful.

my M3 (41/50) Shaft is... Is beautiful....

Beautiful

Precisely. Those arcade shots are also now tailored to close range, at least it stops Shafts arcade-ing at long range when they cant snipe, also gives an incentive to be a versatile, mobile guy rather than a snipe-at-all-times nug...

[Allview_Viper_V2 0]

Very cool update is with the "Hammer" because you can recoil now  like "Wasp" M0 and "Thunder" M3 or M4  :rolleyes:  :)  :)

[CuT_TheRe_HeaRTs_OuT 640]

hi zenith,  nice article very informative and well done. keep up the good work : )  

[LittleWillie 3,199]

Isida review on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being best: 2.5

 

It would be nice to see one of these change reviews starting with a healthy dose of skepticism. They all seem to me to read as though Tanki's spin is take at face-value without challenge.i. 

 

There are not two different energy pools. There is one energy pool. Attacking burs twice the energy / second. So if you attack, you are burning the same enrgy you use to heal.

 

DPS is up by 30% but firing time is down by 45%: Net result is a nerf to the amount of damage it can do before it is out of energy and helpless to attack ... OR to heal friends.

 

The narrowing of the attack angle is yet another nerf - a massive 5 degrees! Why was this done? Tanki says this is a buff! This makes aiming easier, they say! What a lie. It is a nerf, a big one, and for no valid reason. try to hold the beam on target on the uneven ground of Massacre in dynamic battle. Have fun with the "buff", Isida drivers!

 

On top of that - no more self-healing at al. No one can argue this is not a nerf, even Tanki.

 

BUT ... if you put a brick on the spacebar when neither friend nor foe is around... the brick can stay there for twice as long now.  Oh boy! Previously to stop wasting energy I had to - you know - stop pressing the spacebar when there was no target. If this is a buff it's a damn immaterial one.

 

Wow! the m1 alteration gives a whopping 45 decree arc?! Too bad it costs you a lot of range. Too bad range is critical to smart Isida play. Range allows you to heal your slugger while you hunker under cover. Range lets you kill those fires and freezes because Isida damage does not go down at maximum range ... but their DO.  But at least now we know why Tanki nerfed teh regular firing arc ... they are trying to force you to buy the m1 alteration ... and thereby nerf your Isida even more with the loss of range.

 

The m2 alteration? 5 seconds ore heal at the expense of making the Isida unable to kill anything but a light hull? (Approximation) This is a joke. Both alterations are jokes.

 

So we have a significantly nerfed Isida because ? ? ? Because a massive number of players were complaining about how OP the Isida was?  Funny, aif anyone offered an opinion on it was 98% likely to be "Isida is the weakest turret in  the game".

 

So Tanki nerfed it.

 

Thrilling.

Edited February 23, 2017 by LittleWillie

[Tofu 6,773]

^ I am an Isida user(well kind of) and although isida is still pretty weak, it is much stronger than before. It is nice to criticize the update but I think by only playing it ingame can one find out the real effects of the tweaks.

[LittleWillie 3,199]

BY the way, shotgun pellets are soft lead, subsonic, and lightweight compared to bullets. Shoot a wall or steel with shotgun pellets and with full metal jacket military rifle rounds at >2000 FPS and see which one has the significant ricochet effect .. Hint: It ain't the shotgun. Light soft lead pellets flatten out when they hit hard objects thus losing most of their energy.

 

But I see the same example used in Tanki's spin and in this article ... hence my call to see one of these articles written with a little objectivity.

Edited February 23, 2017 by LittleWillie

[LittleWillie 3,199]

^ I am an Isida user(well kind of) and although isida is still pretty weak, it is much stronger than before. It is nice to criticize the update but I think by only playing it ingame can one find out the real effects of the tweaks.

What makes you think I have not played it in the game?

[Tofu 6,773]

What makes you think I have not played it in the game?

Well, if you have and still think that it was a nerf then I am genuinely surprised. But then again, you are entitled to your opinion and I am to mine

[Zenyth 6,494]

1. It would be nice to see one of these change reviews starting with a healthy dose of skepticism. They all seem to me to read as though Tanki's spin is take at face-value without challenge.
2. There are not two different energy pools. There is one energy pool. Attacking burs twice the energy / second. So if you attack, you are burning the same enrgy you use to heal.
3. The narrowing of the attack angle is yet another nerf - a massive 5 degrees! Why was this done? Tanki says this is a buff! This makes aiming easier, they say! What a lie. It is a nerf, a big one, and for no valid reason. try to hold the beam on target on the uneven ground of Massacre in dynamic battle. Have fun with the "buff", Isida drivers!
4. Wow! the m1 alteration gives a whopping 45 decree arc?! Too bad it costs you a lot of range. Too bad range is critical to smart Isida play. Range allows you to heal your slugger while you hunker under cover. Range lets you kill those fires and freezes because Isida damage does not go down at maximum range ... but their DO.  But at least now we know why Tanki nerfed teh regular firing arc ... they are trying to force you to buy the m1 alteration ... and thereby nerf your Isida even more with the loss of range.
5. The m2 alteration? 5 seconds ore heal at the expense of making the Isida unable to kill anything but a light hull? (Approximation) This is a joke. Both alterations are jokes.

1. I do agree that objectivity is an integral part of reviews. At the same time, I'd like to refute your claim that we've taken it all at face-value. I did try my best to take the update with a pinch of salt, and I have added my comments wherever I felt the need to (which, let me admit aren't all-inclusive, inputs are always welcome and I thank you for the same).
2. I do know that there aren't "separate" energy pools indeed. However to explain the concept, I took the liberty of directly stating that the three different targets use different energy pools. I know that the base energy for all of them is one and the same, and I've stated that too, I believe.
3. Again, I haven't really said that the cone nerf makes aiming easier, so I don't get where this comes from. In fact, I've mentioned the difficulty I experienced with Dictator-Isida.
4. That is true. Range is key against the short-rangers but I didn't raise this point because I was commenting on the changes in alteration, and the range has been untouched. The point is valid, anyway.
5. 5 additional seconds of healing could be a thing pet Isidas would love, you never know. 

Thank you for the criticism. :)